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Cooking for me is very stimulating. It combines equal portions art, science and adventure! Every new dish I prepare is like a journey of discovery which I feel like sharing with others, and hence this blog.

I’ve always loved cooking, first with my mother and then since marriage, with my mother-in-law. Both of them have taught me many of the dishes I’ve cooked and also encouraged my interest in learning about these dishes. While my mother’s cooking was mainly from south Karnataka, my mother-in-law’s is from the coast, mainly the Udupi/Kundapura region.

Since moving to the US, I’ve also been exposed to many other cuisines from around the world. Trying them at home, and making them a success has been a very satisfying experience.

I’ve modified many of the recipes that I’ve come across, either to make them vegetarian, or to make them easier to make, or even to make them more flavorful. Sometimes for all three!

I hope you find something you like in my blog. Do try these recipes and let me know if you like them. Your comments will be highly appreciated!

For the love of cooking

Tag Archives: Sugar

This post was sitting in my draft section since a very long time. I have prepared this ample amount of time but never really got to right down the measurements. And last week when I prepared this I made sure I am jotting down every single ingredient and measurement and finally got to post it.

Who doesn’t love gajar ka halwa in India or elsewhere, it’s the most popular sweet served in several occasions. Having a scoop of vanilla ice-cream is a greatest combination to have this sweet in my opinion!

Ingredients:

Carrots- 6 medium (grated)

Unsweetened khoya- 1/2 cup (grated)

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Ghee or clarified butter- 4 Tbsp

Cashew- 3 Tbsp

Raisins- 2 Tbsp

Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

Heat clarified butter in a pan on medium heat, then add cashews and sauté until light golden brown. Add raisins mix for 5-6 seconds and quickly remove the cashews and raisins leaving behind clarified butter in the pan.

Now add the grated carrots and cook them nicely in the ghee (for 8-10 minutes).

Add khoya give it a nice stir and lastly add sugar.

Mix and cook for 6-8 minutes until everything is well combined and comes together. Add in cardamom powder and mix.

Garnish with cashews and raisins!

Enjoy!!!

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Mysore pak is a sweet very popular in Karnataka,India. It just consist of three simple ingredients gram flour, sugar and ghee. I often make this sweet as its my husbands favorite sweet. It is simple to make but if the ingredients are not fresh and measured properly, there are chances of ruining the sweet.

This sweet is solely dedicated to Rukmini aunty (my friends mom) who actually taught me this recipe. She is an expert in making sweets. She was practically there with me when I tried it for the first time…I can never forget how well she taught me the technique. I always had filter coffee and a piece of Mysore pak when I visited her place. I miss those days!

You get the best mysore pak when the gram flour and ghee are fresh. Many people in my home town grind the chick pea fresh from the mill and use homemade ghee.

Ingredients:

Chick pea/Gram flour/ Besan-1 cup

Ghee/Clarified butter- 2 cups ( preferably homemade ghee)

Sugar- 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups

Water-3/4 cup

Preparation:

Add gram flour to the non stick pan and dry roast it for few minutes until the raw smell of the flour disappears and it turns light golden-yellow and keep aside.

Heat water in a pan on medium heat and add sugar, bring it to a two string consistency and add ½ cup of ghee. Turn the heat to low and slowly add gram flour (one or two spoons at a time) and mix well after each addition making sure no lumps are formed. (if you are doing it for the first time, take the help of a second person while doing this step). You can bring back the heat to medium now.

Stir continuously and keep adding ghee slowly into the mixture and mix well. (When 2-3 tbsp of ghee is added at a time, the ghee starts floating on the gram flour mixture, do not panic.. stir continuously until it is well incorporated. Add the ghee and mix in the same fashion until all the ghee has been mixed well.) The mixture becomes thick and starts leaving porous bubbles. Its time to stir it well until it forms one big lump and leaves the pan from the sides. Turn off the heat and pour the mixture on a greased plate. Cut the sweet into desired pieces when mildly hot.

Seeing my history of using dark chocolate, I don’t really have to explain how obsessed I am with dark chocolates. I always feel so good about making a fresh batch of cookies. Well these cookies are very similar to the one printed on the bag of Nestle’s Chocolate Chips. I prefer the cookies to be a bit chewy with caramelized edges and hence make use of both brown and white sugar.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add white and brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time making sure you beat well after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the mixture slowly to the liquid mixture and mix well until no lumps are visible. Add in the chocolate chips and give it a nice stir. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for an hour.

Using two spoons drop about two tbsp of dough onto the baking sheet. Make sure there is enough spacing between the dough to rise and flatten. Bake for 12- 14 minutes and cool it completely on a wire rack before tasting!

Brownies are wonderful “cakey” or “fudgy” type of dessert which goes superbly well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or just plain…Am I right? I have tried many different type of brownies and this recipe brings me a complete satisfaction in terms of slight crispness on the outside and soft chewy texture on the inside. Addition of dark chocolate morsels gives it a nice chocolatey flavor and no one can eat just one!

Microwave for a minute or 2 until the mixture forms a smooth paste. (Do not boil the mixture, they have to just melt). Add sugar, pure vanilla extract and mix well. Add in the eggs one by one and give it a quick stir. Now add, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder and salt.

Mix until no lumps are visible. Finally add the dark chocolate morsels and stir. Pour the mixture to a 8 inch greased square pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Perfect brownies are done when little crumbs stick to the tooth pick when inserted.

Well the word chocolate itself is mouth-watering to me! And I bet there are many chocoholics out there. I have tried many versions of chocolate cupcakes and I am very sure I will stick with recipe from now on. These cupcakes are so moist that you feel like having more of it. I had taken these cupcakes for a potluck party at my workplace and it was no doubt a great hit 🙂 All thanks to joy of baking which had this wonderful cupcake recipe which I fell in love with. Just changed the original recipe a bit for my taste buds and here I present the recipe to you all…

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F Line 16 cupcake liners and keep it ready. Whisk all the dry ingredients like salt, baking powder and all-purpose flour, keep aside. In another bowl mix the hot water and cocoa powder until smooth and bring the mixture to room temperature.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, use a hand mixer or an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in vanilla extract.

Bake for 17-19 minutes until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Do not over bake the cupcakes as they will lose the moistness. Remove from oven and cool them on a wire rack.

Once the cupcakes cools,you can smear the frosting on the cupcake using a spatula or if you have a piping, use a large 1M thick open star tip to make the swirls on the cupcake.

Frosting:

Melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave or place the heat proof bowl with chocolate on a saucepan of simmering water. Mix it until it melts and forms a smooth texture.

In another bowl beat the butter well, add the powdered sugar and beat again. Mix it until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate, beat until smooth and glossy for about 3-4 minutes.

Mexican wedding cakes also known as Russian tea cakes or butter cookies are very delicious and just melts in the mouth. As butter is the main ingredient, it is very important to use a high quality butter to get a rich taste. Use of any kind of nuts gives a very nice nutty flavor and taste.

Toast the nuts at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes until light brown, cool down before grinding to get a powdered mixture or else you will end up getting a lump. Use a hand mixer or food processor to mix the butter and 1/2 cup of confectionary sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in vanilla extract and mix again. In a separate bowl mix salt and all-purpose flour. Add the flour slowly and mix it completely until incorporated. Finally add the nut mixture and bring the mixture into a dough. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°C. Spray the cookie sheet with baking spray or use a parchment paper. Scoop 1 tbsp or 100 oz of mixture, make it in to a round shape and line up the dough 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges and the bottom just turn light golden brown.

Spread 1 cup of confectionary sugar on a flat bottom. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, take a spatula and slowly grab the cookie and toss and turn the cookie in the sugar. The cookie should be completely coated with sugar. If you not a sugar person as I am, you can just sprinkle some sugar on top as well. Make sure you cool it completely before tasting it!

I was looking for a coconut biscuit or cookie recipe on the net and got hooked to these delicious coconut macaroon recipe. I have had this couple of times at my friends place but never clicked to make it at home or I guess was just lazy to bake it. I was on a marathon of baking bread, cakes and cookies last few days. This was on the list too. These cookies are so delicious that I never could eat just one. They are crispy from the outside, soft and chewy from the inside. Dipping these in chocolate syrup gives an incredibly awesome taste. (I could not wait until the chocolate hardened, started munching on it when it was half done). 🙂

On a baking sheet, add a parchment paper or aluminium foil and place a scoop of mixture leaving spaces in between. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350°F or until it turns golden brown.

Allow the cookies to completely cool down. (We can have these by themselves or coat them with chocolate). In a small bowl, add heavy cream and heat until it comes to a boil. Now add chocolate pieces or chips and allow it to settle for 2-3 minutes. Mix them evenly, dip the bottom of the cookies and on top, decorate the cookies as per your wish. Allow it to completely dry before you put them into a air tight container.